Gender medicine teaching increases medical students’ gender awareness: results of a quantitative survey
Background: Knowledge about gender implications of health is insufficiently integrated into university teaching in Germany. Gender awareness represents a key competence to integrate this knowledge into the medical practice. This study is the first survey of the gender awareness of medical students i...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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German Medical Science GMS Publishing House
2023-06-01
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| Series: | GMS Journal for Medical Education |
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| Online Access: | http://www.egms.de/static/en/journals/zma/2023-40/zma001627.shtml |
| _version_ | 1797770566890946560 |
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| author | Wortmann, Laura Haarmann, Lena Yeboah, Amma Kalbe, Elke |
| author_facet | Wortmann, Laura Haarmann, Lena Yeboah, Amma Kalbe, Elke |
| author_sort | Wortmann, Laura |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Knowledge about gender implications of health is insufficiently integrated into university teaching in Germany. Gender awareness represents a key competence to integrate this knowledge into the medical practice. This study is the first survey of the gender awareness of medical students in a cross-sectional design in Germany.Methods: From April to July 2021, a quantitative cross-sectional survey in an online format using the “Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale” (2008) was conducted at four German universities (Charité Berlin, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, and the University of Cologne) with a varied implementation of teaching gender medicine. Students indicated their agreement or disagreement with assumptions and knowledge about the influence of gender in everyday medical practice (gender sensitivity), as well as gender role stereotypes towards patients and physicians (gender role ideology). Results: The 750 included participants showed relatively high gender sensitivity and low gender role stereotyping towards patients and physicians. The curricular implementation of gender medicine in the universities showed a significant influence on the students’ gender sensitivity, as well as on their gender role stereotyping towards patients. Students who reported having taken classes in gender medicine or stated a definite interest in doing so showed significantly higher levels of gender sensitivity. Cis-males showed significantly lower gender sensitivity and significantly higher gender role stereotyping.Conclusion: Implementation of gender medicine in the medical curriculum, attending courses on gender education as well as one’s gender and interest have a significant impact on medical students' gender competencies. These results support the need for structural integration of gender medicine in medical education and gender trainings at medical schools in Germany. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:24:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bd1566fbb97b45cbb568985a5cfd92de |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2366-5017 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T21:24:59Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | German Medical Science GMS Publishing House |
| record_format | Article |
| series | GMS Journal for Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-bd1566fbb97b45cbb568985a5cfd92de2023-07-28T09:52:34ZdeuGerman Medical Science GMS Publishing HouseGMS Journal for Medical Education2366-50172023-06-01404Doc4510.3205/zma001627Gender medicine teaching increases medical students’ gender awareness: results of a quantitative surveyWortmann, Laura0Haarmann, Lena1Yeboah, Amma2Kalbe, Elke3Universität zu Köln, Medizinische Fakultät und Uniklinik Köln, Medizinische Psychologie, Neuropsychologie und Gender Studies, Cologne, GermanyUniversität zu Köln, Medizinische Fakultät und Uniklinik Köln, Medizinische Psychologie, Neuropsychologie und Gender Studies, Cologne, GermanyCologne, GermanyUniversität zu Köln, Medizinische Fakultät und Uniklinik Köln, Medizinische Psychologie, Neuropsychologie und Gender Studies, Cologne, GermanyBackground: Knowledge about gender implications of health is insufficiently integrated into university teaching in Germany. Gender awareness represents a key competence to integrate this knowledge into the medical practice. This study is the first survey of the gender awareness of medical students in a cross-sectional design in Germany.Methods: From April to July 2021, a quantitative cross-sectional survey in an online format using the “Nijmegen Gender Awareness in Medicine Scale” (2008) was conducted at four German universities (Charité Berlin, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, and the University of Cologne) with a varied implementation of teaching gender medicine. Students indicated their agreement or disagreement with assumptions and knowledge about the influence of gender in everyday medical practice (gender sensitivity), as well as gender role stereotypes towards patients and physicians (gender role ideology). Results: The 750 included participants showed relatively high gender sensitivity and low gender role stereotyping towards patients and physicians. The curricular implementation of gender medicine in the universities showed a significant influence on the students’ gender sensitivity, as well as on their gender role stereotyping towards patients. Students who reported having taken classes in gender medicine or stated a definite interest in doing so showed significantly higher levels of gender sensitivity. Cis-males showed significantly lower gender sensitivity and significantly higher gender role stereotyping.Conclusion: Implementation of gender medicine in the medical curriculum, attending courses on gender education as well as one’s gender and interest have a significant impact on medical students' gender competencies. These results support the need for structural integration of gender medicine in medical education and gender trainings at medical schools in Germany.http://www.egms.de/static/en/journals/zma/2023-40/zma001627.shtmlgender medicinegender awarenessgender rolemedical education |
| spellingShingle | Wortmann, Laura Haarmann, Lena Yeboah, Amma Kalbe, Elke Gender medicine teaching increases medical students’ gender awareness: results of a quantitative survey GMS Journal for Medical Education gender medicine gender awareness gender role medical education |
| title | Gender medicine teaching increases medical students’ gender awareness: results of a quantitative survey |
| title_full | Gender medicine teaching increases medical students’ gender awareness: results of a quantitative survey |
| title_fullStr | Gender medicine teaching increases medical students’ gender awareness: results of a quantitative survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gender medicine teaching increases medical students’ gender awareness: results of a quantitative survey |
| title_short | Gender medicine teaching increases medical students’ gender awareness: results of a quantitative survey |
| title_sort | gender medicine teaching increases medical students gender awareness results of a quantitative survey |
| topic | gender medicine gender awareness gender role medical education |
| url | http://www.egms.de/static/en/journals/zma/2023-40/zma001627.shtml |
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